...James Beard offers a <preheated 180 to 200 degree oven> slow-roast method for standing rib, BUT he specifies "...roast without basting for approximately 23 to 24 minutes per pound, until it achieves an internal temperature of 120 to 125 degrees for rare meat; ..."
Your method specifies a far longer time per pound. How say you to Beard's time/pound?

My estimate of 45 minutes per pound comes from how long it takes my 200°F oven to bring an eight pound roast to an internal temperature of 130°F. I took the totla time and divided by eight pounds. This has held true for the last two roasts that I prepared. (Usually, I tell my guests to show up at a certain time and that dinner will be done when it's done. I start preparing the final touches of the other dishes when the roast is sitting at 125°F - the last few degrees always seem to take forever.)

The extra ten degrees may account of some of the time discrepancy, but I doubt that it would double the time. I don't know what to say except, in my experience it takes closer to 45 minutes per pound to bring the roast to medium rare. Of course, I've always suspected that the minutes per pound estimate is a really bad hack as it's unlikely that the time it takes to heat a volume of meat is linear and predictable (what if my roast has more surface area than your roast?)... but that means a series of experiments that I cannot afford (both from a time and a money stand point) at this time in my life...

My thanks for your prompt response, Michael. And, indeed, the WEIGHT makes quite a difference, I'm sure. When I get very wealthy <it is to laugh>, I shall try experiments with roasts of approximately same geometry <and loin end, of course>, and approximate weights of, say, four pounds (2rib...tricky), six pounds (3rib) and eight pounds (4rib).

I have a 14 lb prime rib (boneless) that needs to be cooked dec 24. I would like to seare it first at 450 for approx 25 minutes then reduce the heat to 250. I would like it cooked to a rare or med rare. I have no clue on any time estimate, can someone give me advice or help for my meat . I don't want to waste a lot of money or have Christmas eve dinner a disaster.
PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a 14 lb prime rib (boneless) that needs to be cooked dec 24. I would like to seare it first at 450 for approx 25 minutes then reduce the heat to 250. I would like it cooked to a rare or med rare. I have no clue on any time estimate, can someone give me advice or help for my meat . I don't want to waste a lot of money or have Christmas eve dinner a disaster.

I recommend you go to Bed Bath & Beyond or your local home kitchen supply store and buy a probe thermometer like this Polder model. Thrust the probe into the thickest part of the roast (parallel to the direction of how you will slice it in order to minimize the chance of having slices with holes in them later). Program the thermometer to go off before your desired temperature (taking into account carryover temperature during the resting period). With a 250°F oven, I recommend setting the thermometer to 128°F. After the thermometer goes off, pull the roast out (leave the probe in) and tent with aluminum foil and let rest about 30 minutes (the final temperature should peak at just above 130°F - I expect about a three to four degree upswing in temperature when roasting at 250°F).

Now, timing is going to be a bit tricky with a roast that big... My semi-educated guess is that you'll need an additional 4-5 hours after your first roast at 450°F (less time if you left the roast in the oven during the cooling period when the oven temperature is dropping to 250°F.

You can also opt to finish the roast early, and then drop your oven to as low of a temperature as you can (mine goes down to 170°F) and keep the roast there to keep warm. When it comes time to serve, pull it out, let it rest for thirty, and serve.

Last edited by Michael Chu on Tue Dec 27, 2005 9:45 am; edited 1 time in total

I have only recently found this site, and have been much amused and informed by the bacon studies!
However the Rib Roast of 5KG looms for Boxing Day with some Claret and company. What I am fascinated by is the meat thermometer probe. Unfortunateley Polder can't be had in UK, but I shall have to seek an equivalent? What is the probe wire made of to resist the temperatures of the hot oven as it snakes out, presumably through the door seal?
Probably I won't find a thermometer in time for 26th Dec, but any help on sourcing similar in UK would be a help for next time.
Great fun site!
Iain
(I suggest Donald Russell Direct for UK beef)usual disclaimer

Hi I was reading your cooking method of a rib roast. I too cook it the way you do but I also rub the meat with a little Kitchen bouquet before I put in oven. I also use th eslices of garlic under the fat. Just thought you might want to try it.

Wow, I love this site! Very helpful, as I do not want to ruin an expensive cut of beef. I have never heard of slow roasting prime rib, only heating to sear, then turning the oven off. I'm thinking slow roasting is the way to go. Thanks for the info.

What I am fascinated by is the meat thermometer probe. Unfortunateley Polder can't be had in UK, but I shall have to seek an equivalent? What is the probe wire made of to resist the temperatures of the hot oven as it snakes out, presumably through the door seal?

Any equivalent probe thermometer should work. I believe Kitchen Craft and Taylor both make products for sale in the UK.

This one is available from Amazon.co.uk but I'm not sure you'll be able to get it in time for Dec. 25. You may have to go to the old standby of opening the oven door and shoving a thermometer into the roast every half an hour after the first couple hours.

I'm not sure what the probe wires are made of exactly. It looks and feels like the actual wires that conduct electricity are protected by a metal mesh that wraps around an insulator around the wire. The insulating substance is unknown to me. The cable does lead from the probe through the oven door seal to the thermometer unit.

Excellent site. My own experiance w/ the standing rib is very consistant w/ your recipe recomendations. I prefer to pre-heat to 500 degrees F, turn down to 200 degrees F , then place roast in oven v. the pan sear method. Reading the comments on cook time, I think you need to build your own data based on experiance ( engineering judgement). The ratio of surface area to mass, surface to center distance, bone configuration are all variables. Starting temp of the roast is a significant variable as well, although this one is under your control. For a first time chef, for meal planning purposes, I recommend 30' per pound for roasts under 6 lbs. 40 min for 8 lb. and up. You MUST monitor temp w/ an internal probe to determine actual degree of "doneness".

I don't think anyone here would *recommend* pre-cooking your bad-a** standing rib roast, but sometimes one has to make concessions to the world.

I have found that your best bet is to probably cook it, let it rest until cool, and then slice it into the portion sizes you have in mind. Then the next day heat your oven to somewhere between 300oF and 400oF, place your slices between very large leaves of cabbage, then put the cabbage/cow packages into the oven on top of a rack placed within something to catch drippings.

How long? That's the tricky part. Until they are hot. For some reason, though, the cabbage keeps the slices from browning on the outside while they get nice and toasty.[/i]

Just came upon your website and although my roast is similar to some...I need help! Standing rib, 7 bones, 19 1/2 pounds!! I want to cook slow method at 250 degrees. How long do you think it will take?? Should I start today?? (: Would I be better off cutting it in half? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Help! I have a 14 lb Standing Rib Roast and have no clue how to roast it. I feel I have read too many recipes and am extremely confused. Could someone give me a good clear recipe/ instruction to follow? I would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

Wow... as a former wannabe engineer turned to first love, music/singing/teaching (which really is engineering through and through)...

I was just innocently looking for research notes on the 'perfect' Prime Rib recipe (again) and I googled myself here and got sooo much more...

I am in total awe to witness such a marvelous site as this. I do have the analytical mind (to a fair extreme) surrounded by linear and 'anti-linear' thinking... along with a yearning for visuals, graphs, etc... love the photos and recipe cards.

And, I am LOL ('cuz I soo relate)... the 'engineerist' commentary, criticisms, and especially the temptations for further research and development... I am just baffled by those who forego the research for lack of proper funding? I was always led to believe that I would have had a far wealthier outcome as an engineer (compared to the 'starving' artist route I passed through). I'm wondering what happened... or what else is taking up all that funding that couldn't allow for a few to several prime ribs?

Thanks in metric and all other sorts of measurably huge amounts,
Cat
p.s. If the post is +/- 3:33pm Christmas Eve 'there'... it's 7:33am here... Curious to know where 'you' are... I'm an ex-wife/now better friend of a UK native (about 8 hours forward from us). In fact, he will be sharing the Rib Roast with me later today... and with far more laughs than when we were married.

I'm not an engineer and I don't play one on tv, but I'm married to the daughter of one and hopefully that counts for something.

My question is;
I've read a lot about cooking rib roasts at the traditional 350 method. Has anyone tried the approach of searing at a high temp, then slow cooking at 200-250? This is supposedly the best approach for cooking a roast that is consistently cooked all the way through.

I've read a lot about cooking rib roasts at the traditional 350 method, and just read about the slow cooking 200-250 degree method. Given the two methods, what's the best approach for cooking a roast that is consistently cooked all the way through and tender??

My boneless rib eye is 14lbs.

Quote:

I'm not an engineer and I don't play one on tv, but I'm married to the daughter of one and hopefully that counts for something.

My question is;
I've read a lot about cooking rib roasts at the traditional 350 method. Has anyone tried the approach of searing at a high temp, then slow cooking at 200-250? This is supposedly the best approach for cooking a roast that is consistently cooked all the way through.